PRO BASKETBALL; With Bryant Absent, Lakers Begin Practicing

Reloaded and rejuvenated, the Los Angeles Lakers tried to be unaffected about the news Friday. Still, the fact remained: They were at training camp and their teammate, Kobe Bryant, was not.

Bryant missed the team's first full practice at the University of Hawaii, and it was unclear when or if Bryant, the 25-year-old All-Star guard, would rejoin the team.

A team spokesman said Bryant planned to arrive late Friday night, but did not confirm whether Bryant was en route.

Facing a bail hearing in his sexual assault case next week in Eagle, Colo., Bryant informed team officials through his agent on Thursday that he was feeling ''under the weather'' and would not immediately join the team in Hawaii.

Bryant's absence cast a pall over the first organized practice, which featured several future Hall of Famers. The perennial All-Stars Karl Malone and Gary Payton joined Shaquille O'Neal as teammates for the first time.

The Lakers vacillated between playing down Bryant's absence and making it clear that they would go on without him, if need be.

''We got a great team out there on the court,'' O'Neal said, deflecting questions about Bryant. ''Whether it's four Hall of Famers or three Hall of Famers, we got a near perfect team.''

After his first practice in 18 years without the Utah Jazz, Malone said: ''This is what we've got and we have to play accordingly. Just do your job. Try to keep everybody involved. You can't have any distractions. You just got to say, 'When Kobe gets here, we will work things out.' But right now, we have to just go with what we have here.''

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The Lakers clearly have to be considered a favorite to regain the N.B.A. championship after surrendering their three-year stranglehold on the title to the San Antonio Spurs last season. But Bryant's impending sexual-assault case will clearly have an impact on their fortunes this season. The issue was addressed head-on at the team dinner Thursday night.

''For us as players, it's hard to stay focused on just the basketball because he is one of our teammates,'' point guard Derek Fisher said.

''Obviously, you start getting curious where he is and when is he going to be here. When he comes, we'll welcome him with open arms.''

The Lakers would have clearly liked Bryant to be here to get on with the teammate-bonding process. But Jackson and some of the players also seemed sympathetic to Bryant.

''We were hoping and looking forward to being a support system for him,'' Rick Fox said. ''He has a great one at home. At this time, possibly he made the right decision to be at home considering the pressures that are coming up here in the weeks ahead.

''We're O.K. with that. You guys are going to obviously want us to be upset about that. But we're not. We want him to show up when he's ready.